This is an introductory course in urban transportation planning that examines the

evolution of urban transportation systems in the United States, with particular

emphasis on the complex relationships between transportation, land use, and urban form. This is a foundation course in urban transportation planning and policy; other courses in this series examine (1) the analysis and prediction of travel behavior, (2) urban transportation system planning and analysis, (3) transportation economics, finance, and policy, and (4) transportation and the urban environment.

There are many entry-level planning positions in the transportation sector with local, county, state, and federal governments, metropolitan planning organizations, and private consulting firms. This urban transportation planning course sequence is intended to prepare you to compete successfully for many such positions. These courses alone will not, however, prepare you to take on more technical transportation positions such as computer modeler or traffic engineer. For students interested in working in such specialized positions, additional course work outside of the Department of Urban Planning would be required.

The content of the course can be divided into three parts. The first is a historical look at the planning and development of transportation systems and urban form in the U.S. The second part looks more conceptually and theoretically at the relationships between land use and transportation. And the final part examines a number of land use and transportation policy questions facing planners today.

Part One

institutions.

Part Two

Part Three

development.

There are no formal prerequisites for the course, although prior course work in urban geography and/or urban economics would be helpful. There are five parts to the course: lectures and class discussion, reading assignments, written assignments, a day-long field trip, and a final examination. These parts are intended to reinforce, but not duplicate, one another.

Lectures.

Most of the class time in the first two parts of the course will be devoted to lectures, though these will be punctuated with questions and short discussions. The final third of the course, which examines land use and transportation planning and policy questions, will be a mix of lectures and class discussions of the readings.

Readings.

The lectures will not cover all of the material in the reading, so it is essential that you keep up with the required reading. A complete list of course topics and readings is attached. For each topic, readings are designated as required, recommended, or optional. All of the required readings have been bundled into a reader available from Course Reader Material at 1141 Westwood Boulevard in Westwood Village (310.443.3300). All of the recommended and optional readings will be available from the Graduate Reserve Room on the second floor of the University Research Library. Students are required to complete all required readings prior to the corresponding class session. For deeper coverage of each topic, you should scan the recommended readings as well. The optional readings are supplementary and are suggested if the topic is of particular interest to you. The recommended and optional readings are provided both as a resource to you and as necessary background for the preparation of your written assignments on specific topics.

Written Assignments.

Three written assignments are required: an analytical memo, a field trip memo, and a critical essay. These assignments have staggered due dates timed to correspond with the subject areas covered in class. The analytical memo asks you and a partner to analyze some data pertaining to a land use/transportation issue and prepare a short (4 to 6 page) analysis in memo form. The field trip memo asks you to briefly reflect on the land use transportation relationships observed during our all-day field trip. And for the critical essay, you will do some deeper reading on one of the topics covered in the course and then write a six to twelve page critical essay on the topic.

Field Trip.

Examination.

To give you the opportunity to synthesize the many concepts, issues, and debates covered in the course, there will be a final examination.

Grading. Course grades will be based on the following:

Total 100 percent